Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Michael Brandman has produced over 40 motion pictures written by such legends as Arthur Miller, Stephen Sondheim, Neil Simon, and David Mamet, and with his partner Tom Selleck has produced and written nine Jesse Stone movies and three Westerns. Plus he wrote three Jesse Stone novels for the estate of Robert B. Parker, each a New York Times Best Seller. And now Brandman the novelist has created his own world. He introduces us to Buddy Steel--smart, aggressive, ironic, spare, and cynical--who's been content working homicide at the LAPD until his father, the legendary Sheriff Burton Steel, falls ill with Lou Gehrig's disease. Burton is headquartered in Freedomland, a privileged community within a county about two hours' drive north of LA (think Santa Barbara). Burton wants Buddy home, wants to groom him as sheriff. Never mind that Buddy man outgrew Freedom's limits and has only reluctantly come back. Loyalty between fathers and sons plays out in this lively procedural that explores twisted families, con artists chasing vast sums of money, violent security forces, corrupt public officials, and a femme fatale whose sensuality brings both risks and rewards. It begins when Buddy hits town and receives a report that the wife of Barry Long, Jr., the television star of broadcast ministry, is missing.... Missing Persons is its own book, yet crime fiction fans will find it a joy to trace a lineage running from Raymond Chandler through Parker (with thematic sidebars to Ross Macdonald).
Synopsis
Michael Brandman has produced over 40 motion pictures and written three Jesse Stone novels for the estate of Robert B. Parker, each a NY Times Bestseller. Now meet Buddy Steel--smart, aggressive, ironic, spare, and cynical--who's been content working homicide at the LAPD until his father, the legendary Sheriff Burton Steel, falls ill with Lou Gehrig's disease. Burton is headquartered in Freedom, a privileged community within a county about two hours' drive north of Los Angeles. Burton wants Buddy home, wants to groom him as the next sheriff. Never mind that Buddy outgrew Freedom's limits and has only reluctantly met Burton's request. He's returning on his own terms, as Buddy, not (Burton) Junior. No sooner does Buddy hit town than he learns the wife of the high-flying star of a world-renowned broadcast ministry has gone missing. A visit to the woman's home leads to a hostile confrontation with the Reverend Barry Long, Jr.'s family and to Buddy's realization that something greater than a missing person is at stake. Following up a lead to Los Angeles, Buddy meets Maggie, sister to the Long brothers. She describes her family as "grifters," father and sons, yet stays bound to them by money and blood. And blood soon flows in Freedom, when three members of a super-rich financier's household are butchered in what appears to be a home invasion. Loyalty between fathers and sons plays out in an investigation that blooms from a missing person case to a complex web of twisted families, con artists, corrupt public officials, violent enforcers, and a femme fatale whose sensuality brings Buddy both risks and rewards. Missing Persons is its own book, yet crime fiction fans will find it a joy to trace a lineage running from Raymond Chandler through Robert B. Parker to Sue Grafton and Michael Connelly.
Synopsis
MISSING PERSONS is the first book in the new Buddy Steel mystery series by New York Times best selling author, Michael Brandman.
Steel...smart, aggressive, ironic, spare and cynical...has been content working homicide at the LAPD until his father, the legendary Sheriff Burton Steel, falls ill with Lou Gehrig's disease. Sheriff Steel is headquartered in Freedom, a privileged coastal community located a hundred miles north of Los Angeles. His health failing, he asks his son Buddy to come home to cover his back and to groom him to be his successor.
Buddy reluctantly agrees. He returns to Freedom despite having outgrown its small town limits, wary of his father's authoritarianism.
No sooner does he hit town than Buddy learns the wife of the high-flying star of a Freedom based world-renowned television ministry has gone missing. A visit to the woman's home leads to a hostile confrontation with her husband's family and Buddy's realization that something greater than simply a missing person is at stake.
Allegiance between father and son provides the backdrop for Buddy's complex investigation of twisted families, avaricious con artists, violent gangs, drugs, corruption, and murder. And added to the mix is an enigmatic femme fatale who succeeds in upending Buddy's tenets regarding contemporary relationships.
MISSING PERSONS is its own book, yet crime fiction fans will find it a joy to trace its literary lineage from Raymond Chandler and Robert B. Parker through to Sue Grafton and Michael Connelly.